May The Best Brand Win

Getting privacy wrong ends the marketing relationship and THAT is very bad. We know that marketers can own and lead this discussion instead of waiting to be fined by the results of it. But if we start with empathy, we can get privacy right. Joining me in this episode is legit, renowned privacy expert, Jodi Daniels from Red Clover Advisors to tell us what we need to know about all of the new privacy laws, including the recent Sephora fines—and what we should ALL be doing to respect the relationship and get our privacy right.

It’s said that marketing is about creating great relationships. First, we make people curious, then they want to be enlightened and spend some quality and quantity time with the brand. Then finally when everyone is comfortable we move to commitment. Sounds easy, but marketing relationships are tough and so are own personal relationships at home. Joining me on the show is Coach Arno who helps results-driven executives create the relationship they want even when their partner is not open for couples counseling using his proven LBR-Method. So get your apologies and spontaneous gifts ready for another Oprah-approved episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Media.

PR works with media on reviews to build trust for the brands we represent. On the show today, is Scott Tharler, an award-winning tech journalist who has reviewed bazillions of tech products and services for Newsweek, Club Life Magazine, Gear Patrol, Maxim, Techwalla, Fodor's Travel, Discovery News and many others. Also an author, podcaster (The Family CTO) and speaker, he's especially drawn to devices dedicated to travel, audio and power, but considers himself a tech generalist, excited to share info about cool, practical gadgets (and non-tech stuff) with anyone who'll listen. We dig into the paid aspects of journalism today and of course how marketers continue to get it wrong invading privacy and lacking empathy.

Branding is better when you make the customer feel AMAZING — like they just got laid. My guest today, Deb Gabor has written the book on branding (twice!) with bestsellers Branding is Sex and Irrational Loyalty. She's the founder and CEO of Sol Marketing, a strategy-led marketing firm obsessed with solving major business and branding problems for clients in every industry. Join me today for a hot show (followed by a cold shower) as we dig into what brands need to do to create irrational loyalty in this world of bad marketing practices.  

They say “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but when not just ANY picture or image will do, smart marketers call on Renee Farias, a visual branding specialist and former U.S. Army combat medic with 25 years of fantastic experience. Join me for a fun interview with Renee as we discuss photography, NFTs, digital rights, celebrities and more on the next award-winning May the Best Brand only on Entertalk Media.

There are many myths in the profession of marketing, but none as great as big data. They say “big data helps to elicit customer insights in real-time. Therefore, marketers can understand the tastes and preferences of their target audience.”  Uh-huh.  So let’s dispel this nonsense and get down to what marketers like you should be doing.  Join me for another Nobel Prize winning episode of May the Best Brand Win only on Entertalk.  

As society has advanced so has our ability to command language. Today words still matter in marketing.  Everything we do starts with words because our THOUGHTS start with words. One of the key tenets of StoryBrand is “people buy products and services only after reading the words that make them want to buy”   So if everything begins with words, then why do SO many websites fail to communicate clearly?  We’re going to look at why and give you some tips on HOW you can do a better job with your words on the show the Taliban calls “an abomination from the heart of the Great Devil himself” May the Best Brand Win only on Entertalk.  

Is a hot dog a sandwich. No.  And is marketing an unrelated bunch of tactics to make money? Nope. On today’s show I thought I might talk a bit about what marketing really is here in the lovely (increasingly dystopian) future of 2021.  Before you do this stuff, you need to know the basics about relationships so don’t worry, I’m gonna tell ya everything (except like the birds and the bees — I’m hoping your parents or siblings handled that).  It’s gonna be crazy again on the podcast Apple calls “one of many we host” on the next May the Best Brand Win only on Entertalk Media.

Today a brand is only as good as its stories and its content.  That bodes extremely well for my guest, Rick Smith, the Founder and CEO of NewsUSA a leader in the syndicated content space.  We’re going to talk about content and what brands can do to tell a better story and amplify that story to reach audiences around the world.  Join me for another Peabody-award winning episode of May the Best Brand on Entertalk.

The currency of marketing has always been how interesting a particular product, service or company could be.  Today it’s imperative because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but human attention spans are shrinking like George Costanza coming out of the cold water in that classic episode of Seinfeld.  In fact, a new study by Microsoft says that humans now has less of an attention span than a common goldfish. The average attention span for the notoriously ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds, but according to a new study from Microsoft Corp., people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds.  Fear not, I have some tips for you on how to be VERY interesting to your target audiences.  Join me for another Oscar-nominated episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

Is it me or have things gotten really fake in the world lately?  I mean, marketing has always been full of it, but lately it seems much worse.  As communicators, we are we supposed to do?  Should we accept the fake nature of the world today as it is or can we fix it?  We’re gonna dive into this area on another Golden Globe worthy edition of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

Marketing has to be about generating leads. But how far are some companies willing to go to do it? How many “targets” will they bother to get one “conversion.”  There’s a better way and I will show it to you on the next truly epic edition of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Media.  

2020 was a weird year for the world and for marketing. Here’s a quick recap of what happened and most importantly how YOU can make your marketing even stronger in 2021!  Join me for another Novel Prize nominated episode of May the Best Best Win on Entertalk Media.  

Eddy Pham is a legend in direct response world.  Starting with his invention of the George Foreman Grill to the Snuggie, to the Comfeet Blanket — Eddy listens to the market and gives it EXACTLY what it wants.  That’s marketing.  Eddy joins us on the show today to talk about his incredible career and what he’s working on next!  Eddy will also give you aspiring inventors some great tips on another "As Seen on TV" certified episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!  

No matter what you sell, it probably comes in a box.  And marketing has ways of making that box sell, sell sell.  But joining me on the show today is musical entrepreneur and good friend Dave Craver whose new company Living Image has a way to make those boxes come to life via Augmented Reality (AR) and REALLY creep people out.  Dave will be here to talk all about that and we’ll hit who’s winning and losing in marketing this week on another wild and crazy award-winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Media. 

If you’ve shopped or eaten at a mall or strip mall in your life, you’ve seen Sheldon Pont’s work.  As a master of real estate for retail operations including Morton’s Steakhouse, Polo Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, Cartier, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins and Little Caesar’s Sheldon manages huge real estate projects and is frequently quoted in the media for his expertise in real estate development. Sheldon joins us today to talk about retail in the USA and the world.  We’ll also hit who’s winning and losing and if you’re nice Sheldon will leave us with some tips/trends before it’s over.  All on another fully marked up episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk! 

Here we sit in 2020 and we have no flying cars, no instant meal preparation machines, no space age clothes with matching boots.  But we still have marketing…and man is it awful.  Why is marketing SO bad, so pointless so easily trashable?  We’re going to look at some examples and explore the issue a bit on what’s sure to be another Nobel Peace Prize winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

Well it happened.  CES — canceled.  NAMM Show — canceled.  But YOUR company ISN’T canceled and YOU still have important marketing work to do.  But NOW you’re going to be minus some really big events that helped you in the past.  Fear not, where there’s a will, there’s a way and I have a few tips and tricks to help you out on this episode of Ryan Reynolds’ favorite marketing podcast, May the Best Brand Win only on Entertalk.  

They say entrepreneurs are unemployable because they’d rather MAKE a job than TAKE one.  Well our guest on today’s program certainly fits that bill.  He’s a visionary fitness trainer known around the world for training pro soccer stars — turned actor who worked alongside of Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall — He’s a documentary filmmaker  - turned inventor and marketer. He’ll give us some tips, share his journey and even tag team some winning and losing stories from the marketing universe on another fantastic episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

I was in a conversation recently with some business owners and the question of “what is your most effective marketing advice” came up.  Almost all of them said “yeah, we don’t do much marketing,” which I found strange.  Upon further examination many of them engaged in plenty of marketing-related activities but they just didn’t “call” them marketing.  So we’re going to talk about all of the activities that companies do that apparently they don’t think are marketing, but they actually are.  We’ll also dig into who’s winning and losing this week on another fantabulous episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.   

Math was not my favorite subject mostly because you couldn’t BS your way through it.  There’s a process, an order to how you do it and there isn’t any room for improvisation.  Well, after studying thousands of marketing campaigns from b2b and b2c companies, I can tell you there’s a order of operations for marketing too.  We’re gonna talk about it and still have time to hit who’s winning and losing on another semi-entertaining episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk! 

Episode 160: Making Sure Your Price is Right With ScienceIf you study marketing, you know about the four P’s.  One of those P’s is PRICING.  And with us today is an expert in pricing, Per Sjofos, the CEO of market research company, Atenga.  Per does price specific market research also called Predictive Demand Analysis(TM) and is an expert in what things SHOULD cost. We’re going to talk about pricing, baby and Per is going to show us the science behind it.  We’ll also hit who’s winning and losing on another affordably priced, award-winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk. 

Why are some of the world’s most successful people NEVER late to meetings?  Because time is the one thing which you cannot buy more.  In my business, a common objection to improving marketing is time.  I just don’t have TIME to do any marketing.  Well, that is pretty shortsighted and dumb.  So I’m going to show you WHY you should make time for marketing and HOW to do it.  We’ll also tackle who’s winning and losing this week in marketing on another fun-filled and super educational edition of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.

Most of the danger of Cv-19 is fear.  Fear is  an emotion that requires a stimulus in the human brain.  Now the mass media have tried their very best to keep us afraid, but we’ve dealt with them before.  I believe the Cv-19 crisis got all of its fear muscle from social media.  We love liking, sharing and posting SO much that kinda got played by our own creation.  But FEAR not, because I’m going to show you my top 3 ways social media scares us and hopefully by knowing that, YOU won’t get played again. We’ll also dig into who’s winning and losing on another fantabulous episode of May the Best Brand Win.  

Most website really, really suck. They are old, outdated, unclear and full of so much marketing crap you have to run a mental marathon of calories to figure out what they say.  And of course, most people won’t do that.  So we’re gonna discuss how it happened and more importantly the three things you can do RIGHT NOW to fix yours.  We’ll also dive into who’s winning and losing on another robust yet airy episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

One of the un-advertised powers of public relations has always been our ability to form and shape public opinion. And if you truly knew what PR could accomplish, it would be outlawed immediately. This latest coronavirus situation makes a nice case study about public opinion. So join me as we look deeper into it and determine how this whole thing happened. We’ll also hit who’s winning and losing on another epic episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!

You may not know this but HOW a news story gets covered by the media often determines the takeaway value for the audience.  Words matter.  Putting them together one way leads to a logical calm decision-making public.  Doing it another way, results in stores being cleaned out and people walking around on the street looking like walk-in extras for Doogie Howser, MD.  We’ll talk about the subtleties of word play — how they do what they do and how YOU can make sure they don’t do it to you or your family. (See what I did there).  We’ll also hit who’s winning and losing this week on another amazing and educational episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!  

Screenwriter Robert McKee once said “True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure - the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature.”  Well, 2020 has been quite a story so far, huh?  And what have we seen?  Also, why is knowing people SO darn useful in marketing?  We’re gonna dig into these fascinating questions and have time to hit who’s winning and losing on the next Razzie-award winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.   

Episode 153: Save a Life. Stop Breathing (And other bad messages during trying times)If you’re managing marketing for a company during the COVID-19 quarantine, you’re out of things to say. You know it, we know it. You’ve already sent out the “We’re Here for You” email and that’s all you had left in the tank. But fear not, because I’m going to show you exactly what your company or org should be saying during even the most difficult of times. And we’ll have to time to hit who’s winning and losing on another spectacular and fully sterilized episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.

As good marketers, we know that the message/story and strategy come first, followed by design. But design is extremely important as long as it follows and supports the story. So many emotions get tied up in design and that can serve a brand and it can hurt as well. Join me as we discuss the emotional side of design and how to stay on the right side of it, and we’ll see who’s working enough hours to be winning and losing on another JD Powers and Associates Award winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.

As the US deals with 270 deaths and 12K cases of coronavirus, while promoting the story with the power of 25 or 30 Super Bowls, the business world has been left wondering what to do next. Well every storm eventually ends and that will be the case with this one too. So I’d like to get us really focused on what happens AFTER the virus and we get back to business. We’ll also tackle who’s winning and losing on another Nobel Prize winning episode of the completely virus-free May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!

“I believe in journalism.” Yeah, when Walter Williams wrote that as part of The Journalist’s Creed, it was true of himself and most people. However, today it’s a different story. Actually it’s more of a narrative being pushed as propaganda rather than “news.” Has journalism betrayed the public trust? Why? And is there any way back? As marketers, where does this leave us in terms of public relations, advertising and other tools that rely on the public’s trust in our news media? We’re gonna hit all of this and more on the 150th (set of steak knives) edition of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!

Everything in marketing starts at the same place — words. Not logos, not photos, not videos, not anything but words. But the words we use can bring either confusion or clarity to our audience and CAN mean the difference between growth and a “going out of business" sign for a company. In this episode, we’re going to talk about words and why they still matter in a world of puppy videos. We’ll also hit who’s winning and losing and have all sorts of “sanitized for your protection” fun on the next coronavirus-free edition of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!

Episode 148: The Confusion and Power Around Free StuffNow that we’re in full swing political season for the primaries, lots of stuff is being promised as “free”. Free has been used as a marketing hook since caveman days when that first hairy dude gave away an extra bone just to get you coming back to his cave. Free has power, but free can be confusing too and set some wild expectations. So we’re going to talk about free and when it benefits a brand and when it hurts one. We’ll also dig right into who’s winning and losing on another completely free and amazing episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!

If I say PR, chances are you’re gonna immediately think of a press release. But the problem is, the world has changed, is changing and the PR profession is evolving past this tool into some interesting new areas. So we’re gonna talk about the past, present and future of PR and its primary weapon of choice, the press release. We’ll also swipe right and left on a few winners and losers in the marketing world this week and we’ll still have time to collect all of that Valentine’s Day love from fans and friends alike on another Valentine-worthy edition of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk. 

Did you know that more than 80 entities fought for your attention on Super Bowl Sunday and paid $5 million every 30 seconds to do it?  Yep, that’s the Super Bowl and to many people, the ads are more of a feature than the game itself.  Although it was fun seeing my hometown KC MO Chiefs win it in spectacular comeback kid fashion.  Well, we’re gonna dive in and tell you who won and lost with their ads and why — and of course we’ll have a fresh batch of winning and losing too!  So join me for a Lombardi trophy winning version of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!    

It’s been described as "the biggest toy store in the world for musicians and pro audio aficionados." It’s also been called “the largest collection of bad credit risks ever assembled under one roof”. It’s the one and only NAMM Show—and this year did not disappoint. Tune in and see who won and lost and who introduced the products musicians will be talking about all year long (because that’s when they will finally launch). It’s gonna be another great episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk so don’t miss it!

You have to admire technology and its ability to solve mankind’s various problems. Many problems you didn’t even know you had.  Well, if you love technology, then CES 2020 was for you.  Don’t worry if you didn’t make it out to the desert because I was there for you, asking the questions the mainstream media is too afraid to ask…about mental dog training and many other subjects.  So tune into another sure-fire award-winning episode of the acclaimed podcast, May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio!  

To me, marketing should always be great. After all, we’re telling powerful stories about the customer’s favorite subject — themselves and their own needs. So they’re locked in. But when you look around at all of the thousands of marketing messages bombarding us every single day, they are telling a different story — a confusing story all about the company and ITS needs with ZERO mention of you. Big problem. So we’re going to talk about this topic and before it’s over Santa Scott is going to leave some useful tips on how to create really great marketing in 2020 for you! So tune in for another potentially amazing episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk!

Marketing is about a lot of things, but one of the biggest is transformation.  By providing cool products and services we can actually take people on a little journey to get where they ultimately want to go.  Sounds simple, but more companies screw this up than you can count. So, we’re going to talk about it and show you how to do it the marketing ninja you are, baby!  We’ll also dig into who’s winning and losing on about TEC Award winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

Reputation comes from the Latin word reputationem, which means "consideration." It's how people consider, or label, you — good or bad. Every choice along the way matters and either builds it up for you or your company or tears it down. We’re gonna talk about conscience and reputation this week and I’ll give you a few tips for building a great one and not screwing it up with your marketing.  We’ll also drill into who’s winning and losing this week on another GRAMMY award winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

Marketing means a lot of different things to different people but everyone who does it long enough develops a few tricks or hacks that REALLY work well. I’m going to share my top 10 list of marketing hacks and we’ll also have time to dig into who’s winning and losing this week in marketing & communications on another CMA winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.

It seems like every day is Halloween in the world of bad marketing with more creeps, ghosts and ghouls in your in-box and social feed than you can stand. So let’s talk about it — What approaches are super creepy and WAY over the line? — and how do you stay assertive for your clients and companies but still back off to let the relationship live and breathe? We’ll hit this spooky topic along with a fresh scary batch of winners and losers on the next award-winning May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.

Understanding (aka comprehension) is the most desired outcome of effective communications. But a lot of companies are in a BIG hurry to sell you something and they won’t let a little thing like YOUR preferences or needs get in the way of THEIR goals. So to help out here, I’m going to focus this episode on the things you need for people to REALLY understand a message. We’ll also dive headfirst into who’s winning and losing this week in marketing & communications on another fun-filled, Razzy-award winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.

There’s a disruptive storm coming to California in January of 2020 and it’s a big one. The brand spankin new CA Consumer Privacy Act goes into effect and organizations are going to have to get IT, legal and marketing in the same room to manage it. I recommend the donuts with sprinkles to get this done cause everyone likes those. Before the storm hits, I’m going to go through the new law from the marketing point of view and tell you what you need to know. Better bring a poncho! And of course, I’ll dig into who’s winning and losing on another action-and-info packed rendition of May the Best Brand Win only on Entertalk.

Oh it’s all the rage in the gig economy, fractional executives.  That’s right, you too, can purchase a fraction of a senior execs time, tap into that expertise and NOT have to invite them to the holiday party so more booze for you!  Returning with me on the show will be senior marketing guru Seth Avergon of Avergon Marketing to discuss the idea of fractional marketing executives (or any executives really) and why it can be the right choice for some organizations.  Of course, Seth and I will tag team who’s winning and losing on another Emmy-award winning edition of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.  

Brand reputations are hard fought and won over time and usually the most valuable assets any business can possess.  After all, if the brand is the sum total of EVERYTHING, then everything is now on the line when reputation is threatened. With more photos and videos being convincingly faked via new tech, how will companies find ways to maintain brand reputation? We’re going to talk about deep fakes and big mistakes and still have time to hit who’s winning and losing on the next CMA-Award Wining episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk.   

We’ve talked about the importance of using intelligence in marketing before. And there are some who think using artificial intelligence can “improve the customer journey” and other BS-sounding phrases meant to lull companies into a sense of security for putting their most important assets in the hands of the same things that tried to kill Sarah Conner and end humanity. Want the real truth about the fate we make? Then tune in to another Peabody-Award-Winning episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk. 

Episode 132: What Winning Brands DoThere are thousands of brands out there all vying to be top in their categories. My company’s tag line and the name of this radio show is May the Best Brand Win so sometimes I get asked, so...HOW do we win? Well, we’re gonna talk about it and I’m going to leave you with my best tips for building a trusted, beloved and yes, winning brand. And we’ll also see who’s winning and losing out there in the world this week. So join me for another fantabulous award-winning episode of May the Best Brand Win only on Entertalk. 

At its core, marketing is pretty simple.  Learn what customers want, deliver it better than anyone else and build a strong relationship.  Easy, right?  But the marketing we see on a daily basis isn’t this at all - it’s dumb ads, robocalls, telemarketing, awful salesy emails and pitches on social media.  Why the disconnect and what can be done about it?  We’ll hit this topic today along with a freshly baked batch of who’s winning and losing on the next Oscar-nominated episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Media.